How they got here — Iowa’s 2015 defense

Iowa's defense finished sixth in total defense in the Big Ten and 20th nationally. Iowa was one of five FBS defenses that gave up the lowest percentage of plays of 20-plus yards during the regular season.

Iowa's defense did things. It steadied the Hawkeyes early during their 12-0 regular season.

Iowa did this with a keen eye for the players who would thrive in the culture that head coach Kirk Ferentz has created in his 17 seasons. This, of course, doesn't translate into a constellation of recruiting stars.

Defensive end Nate Meier

Hometown:

Tabor

Rivals star rating

: 2 stars

The road to Iowa City

: Nate Meier's production at Fremont-Mills High School is video game kind of stuff. He led the Knights to the Eight-Man state football championship in 2011 while rushing for 2,494 yards and 57 touchdowns. He also recorded 112 total tackles, including 34 for losses, on defense.

That's a full career much less season.

The 'eight-man football' part of that caught your eye, didn't it? What do these numbers mean? I watched his videos and, at some points, he looked like a bear loose in a children's zoo.

How many stars now?

: The Rose Bowl will be Meier's 27th consecutive start. The 6-1, 255-pounder finished tied for 10th in the Big Ten with a team-high 6.5 sacks. He also had a team-high 10.5 tackles for loss and nine QB hurries. Meier was named third team all-Big Ten on the coaches and media ballots.

Playing through shoulder, groin and neck injuries, Meier unquestionably brought a toughness intangible beyond measure.

Defensive tackle Jaleel Johnson

Hometown:

Lombard, Ill.

Rivals star rating

: 4 stars

The road to Iowa City

: Jaleel Johnson was a 6-4, 300-pound defensive tackle everyone covets. He gave Iowa a verbal commitment in the summer of 2011. He started to waver. Michigan State hooked some family members. He considered visiting the Spartans.

In the end, after he visited Iowa City, Johnson stayed with his first choice. He said no thanks to an offer to visit East Lansing and stuck with the Hawkeyes.

Johnson is the kid who got the 'house with feet' comment from ESPN.com. He played some guard at Montini High School in Illinois, so . . .

'He's a house with feet,' Montini coach Chris Andriano said. 'He's a big kid, moves very well. He's got very powerful hips. When he hits people, they buckle.'

Johnson chose the Hawkeyes over offers from Arizona, Boston College, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Wisconsin.

Johnson was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., in — get ready to feel old — 1994.

How many stars now?

: Johnson earned honorable mention all-Big Ten from coaches and media in his first season as a starter. He has 43 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. He was second on the team with six QB hurries. Johnson saw time in rotation last season and bloomed as a first-year starter, playing roughly more than 80 percent of Iowa's defensive snaps.

Defensive tackle Nathan Bazata

Hometown:

Howells, Neb.

Rivals star rating

: 3 stars

The road to Iowa City

: D-line coach Reese Morgan found Bazata in Howells, Neb., where Bazata was a dominant force on the eight-man level for Howells-Dodge High School. During his junior year, Bazata's Howells High School team beat Giltner in the state semifinals. Giltner was led by Drew Ott, now a senior defensive end at Iowa.

Bazata also finished second at heavyweight in the state wrestling tournament as a sophomore, finishing his junior season with a 39-1 record. In the spring of 2012, Bazata attended an all-Nebraska football combine in Lincoln and led all participants with 26 reps of 185 pounds on the bench press.

Bazata's only other offer was South Dakota State. In the preseason this year, Bazata was asked about his introduction to Iowa. His reaction was honest. 'How did you find me?' Bazata said with a laugh. 'All the smaller schools around find word about you, but how did a big school like this find me? It's pretty cool when they do come and talk to you.'

How many stars now?

: In his first season as a starter, Bazata had 39 tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, one pass broken up, one QB hurry and one punt/kick blocked. After playing just 72 snaps in rotation last season, Bazata played more than 600 this year (nearly 80 percent).

Defensive end Parker Hesse

Hometown:

Waukon

Rivals star rating

: 2 stars

The road to Iowa City

: Hesse did everything for Waukon High School during his senior season, accounting for more than 2,700 yards and 39 TDs as a quarterback. North Dakota, South Dakota State and Northern Iowa were Hesse's only other offers, all FCS schools. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said Iowa sticks to its evaluations. When Iowa's staff finds and offers a player it believes will help them win a Big Ten championship, it sticks even when no other FBS school sees it.

'I read that [Seattle Seahawks QB] Russell Wilson was a two-star recruit,' Ferentz said when Hesse signed in 2014. 'I know [Iowa linebacker coach] Jim Reid was trying to get him at Richmond and thought he had a chance. So, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I think you have to trust what you see and what you believe.'

Hesse won Iowa's heart with a performance during a summer camp in Iowa City. He claimed an offer during his senior year, when he was putting up all those numbers above.

Projection is part of the deal, and with Hesse, part of the projection is how he would take to football on a full-time basis. Hesse played basketball, ran track and played baseball at Waukon.

How many stars now?

: Hesse started the season probably thinking he'd see rotation time behind senior Drew Ott. Ott suffered a torn ACL in October and was lost for the season. Hesse jumped in and compiled 42 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, one QB hurry and a forced fumble. Hesse's 4-yard interception return for a TD at Nebraska gave Iowa a 14-7 lead in a 28-20 victory. It arguably was one of Iowa's top 10 plays of the season.

Outside linebacker Ben Niemann

Hometown:

Sycamore, Ill.

Rivals star rating

: 2 stars

The road to Iowa City

: Let's acknowledge the fact that Ben Niemann said no to playing college football for his dad, Jay, and Northern Illinois. And let's also realize that's absolutely a statement on the opportunity he had at the University of Iowa.

Niemann was committed and set to play for his dad at Northern Illinois. Jay Niemann is the defensive coordinator for the Huskies. NIU was Niemann's best scholarship offer. Eastern Michigan and Illinois State were the other options. Then, after Niemann camped at Iowa, the Hawkeyes offered.

Niemann committed to the Hawkeyes in late July 2013 and never looked back. It wasn't easy, but Iowa was Ben Niemann's best opportunity and his father was perfectly comfortable with his son playing for a coaching staff he trusts.

How many stars now?

: Niemann entered the second half of the TaxSlayer Bowl and has owned the outside linebacker spot ever since, starting all 13 games for the Hawkeyes this season, including a bounceback to make the Big Ten title game after going through concussion protocol after a vicious hit at Nebraska. Niemann was hugely important in Iowa's improvement on perimeter defense in 2015. His job was to set the edge on the strong side of the field 75 percent of the time. He had 44 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, three QB hurries and two passes broken up.

Middle linebacker Josey Jewell

Hometown:

Decorah

Rivals star rating

: 2 stars

The road to Iowa City

: Josey Jewell dealt with the naysayers throughout his football career. His only other scholarship offer was from Northern Iowa. He wasn't a 'lightning in a bottle' running back for Decorah High School, but still gained 1,314 yards and scored 21 TDs as a senior. Iowa, Iowa State and UNI showed interest, but was he big enough at 6-2, 195?

'I always thought I wanted to play D-I football. Everybody was like no you won't. You won't be good enough. You have to be really good for that. That's not you,' Jewell said. 'I was like, well I'm just going to have to work hard. I guess it's kind of turned out.'

One question coaches had with Jewell is what position he would play in college. In high school, he rarely came off the field, starting at linebacker and fullback and playing on most of the special teams units as well. As a senior, Jewell finished with 100 tackles, 13 TFL, and six sacks on defense.

'Iowa says linebacker or fullback,' Jewell said. 'UNI says linebacker or maybe a nickelback type of position. I'm thinking it will probably be linebacker, but I'll have to put on about 20 or 30 pounds.'

How many stars now?

: Going into the bowl season, Jewell is No. 2 in the Big Ten with 119 tackles. He also had 7.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, three interceptions, six passes broken up, two QB hurries and a forced fumble. In his first full season as a starter, Jewell earned second-team all-Big Ten honors from coaches and media. Former Iowa and Indianapolis Colts linebacker Pat Angerer, who, like Jewell, wore the No. 43 at Iowa, tweeted during the Big Ten title game, 'Best 43 in Iowa history #TheOutlaw.'

Weakside linebacker Cole Fisher

Hometown:

Omaha, Neb.

Rivals star rating

: 3 stars

The road to Iowa City

: In late January 2011, Fisher, then a 6-foot-3, 190-pounder from Millard North (Omaha, Neb.), committed to the Hawkeyes, picking Iowa over Kansas. Iowa coaches told Fisher and his dad that he was the No. 1 linebacker on Iowa's board for 2011 recruiting. Iowa offered a scholarship after Millard North's seventh game of the 2009 season.

'The first thing I saw off the bat was the coaches. They're a bunch of really great guys,' said Fisher, who carried a 3.8 GPA and scored a 28 on his ACT. 'Also, it's been the same guys forever now. There isn't going to be any changing or anything like that. It's comforting to not worry about anything like that. The guy who's recruiting you is going to be your coach.'

Not long after Iowa offered, Fisher suffered a torn ACL in a basketball game in December 2010. The knee, however, stunted his recruiting. His only other offer was Kansas. And, no, no offer from Nebraska, where his dad, Todd, and brother, Sean, played.

Yes, Fisher's recruitment extended back to 2009. One of his hosts for a recruiting visit? Former Iowa QB Ricky Stanzi.

How many stars now?

: Fisher will graduate from Iowa with a civil engineering degree and, eventually, will attend grad school in that subject. As you might imagine, this major forces you to immerse. And, as you already know, college football on this level forces you to immerse. With most of the heavy lifting finished in his major, Fisher started to make strides on the field and won the weakside linebacker spot in August camp. Fisher is second on the team with 112 tackles and had 4.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and six pass breakups. He earned honorable mention all-Big Ten from coaches and media.

Cornerback Greg Mabin

Hometown:

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Rivals star rating

: 3 stars

The road to Iowa City

: Greg Mabin didn't get a bedroom full of offers and letters. In the end, it was Iowa, Tulane and Jacksonville State (an FCS school). For the pedigree crowd, this probably didn't do a whole lot for you.

Mabin finished his senior season at Calvary Christian Academy in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with 52 catches for 877 yards and 15 touchdowns. As a junior, he had 58 catches for 1,094 yards and 12 touchdowns. So, he produced.

Mabin committed to Iowa relatively early in the recruiting process, pulling the trigger on Iowa in October 2011 just before his high school season ended. If he would've waited, more offers might've come. Among those showing interest (read: waiting to pounce) was Wisconsin.

Bloodlines might've been the biggest draw. (past performance isn't an indication of future success, but hey). Mabin's dad, Wes, played cornerback for Nebraska, winning two national titles from 1968-71. You probably remember Northwestern cornerback Jordan Mabin. That's Greg's cousin.

How many stars now?

: Mabin finished the season 53 tackles and was second on the team with eight pass breakups. He also had two interceptions. Mabin goes into the Rose Bowl as a two-year starter now with 25 career starts.

Strong safety Miles Taylor

Hometown:

Silver Spring, Md.

Rivals star rating

: 3 stars

The road to Iowa City

: Gonzaga College High School (Washington D.C.) safety Miles Taylor committed to Georgia Tech in March 2013 after his junior day visit. Just days before he committed, Taylor, a speedy, physical 6-0, 185-pounder, received an offer from Iowa. That kind of stuck. Omar Truitt, an early Iowa commit and Maryland native, got in Taylor's ear.

'I felt like I had made a hasty decision in committing to Georgia Tech, because I was so excited that they offered me a scholarship,' Taylor told the Washington Post. 'As I talked to the coaches at Iowa and Omar more, I really wanted to take a visit out there, and once I did, I fell in love with everything, from the culture and the way people love football to the players and the coaches.'

Iowa brought in Taylor as a strong safety.

'As a two-year starter at safety for us, Miles plays the game really fast and he's a physical player that flies around out there and coaches love that,' Gonzaga coach Aaron Brady told the Post.

Taylor also held offers from Temple and U-Mass.

'Coach (Phil) Parker said that he wants me to play strong safety. They see me fitting in really well there,' Miles told HawkeyeReport.com. 'I think that's a perfect fit for me because we run pretty much the same defense at my high school . . . I'm familiar with the defense and I like how their safeties come down and hit. That's my game, so I like that.'

How many stars now?

: In his first season as a starter, Taylor had 62 tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss, a half of a sack and three pass breakups. He played 19 snaps mostly on special teams in 2014. This year, he's played more than 700 (more than 85 percent) to go along with special teams duties.

Free safety Jordan Lomax

Hometown:

Upper Marlboro, Md.

Rivals star rating

: 3 stars

The road to Iowa City

: Jordan Lomax was the second Washington D.C.-area prep to commit to the Hawkeyes in 2011. Iowa ended up with three, the same number as Maryland, the home state school Maryland. The fact that Maryland had a coaching change might've helped Iowa make inroads. Also, this was 2011, when running back Marcus Coker, a DeMatha prep like Lomax, came off a successful freshman season, capped by an MVP performance in the Insight Bowl. The other Maryland preps were DT Darian Cooper (whose career was cut short by a knee injury) and safety Nico Law (who transferred).

'Iowa has expanded their recruiting base into the D.C. area,' DeMatha Coach Bill McGregor told the Washington Post. 'They can see kids will go away from home and it's worth their investment to get into D.C. In two years, they've made some pretty good headway. Iowa is going to be a school to be reckoned with in the D.C. area. That's a lot of kids to have up there in the D.C. area in two years, don't you think?'

Taylor also is a Maryland prep. With two walk-ons, Iowa has five players from Maryland on the roster.

How many stars now?

: Lomax was named a third-team all-Big Ten pick by the coaches and given honorable mention by media this season. He finished third on the team with 92 tackles and six pass breakups, one tackle for loss, one forced fumble and one interception. Lomax, who graduated last May with a degree in economics, was a punishing hitter out of the secondary for the Hawkeyes.

Cornerback Desmond King

Hometown:

Detroit, Mich.

Rivals star rating

: 3 stars

The road to Iowa City

: What causes a ton of the dissonance in college football recruiting is, of course, the unknown. That extends from fans to coaches to the players under recruitment. From the player's view, sometimes you never know who likes you until they offer a scholarship. You see free college and it's probably prudent to say yes to that. But then, a bigger, better Big Ten place offers you free college.

Desmond King received an offer from Central Michigan and committed to Central Michigan in summer of 2012. Then, not long thereafter, the 5-foot-11, 185 defensive back from Detroit's Crockett High School, switched to Ball State.

During his visit to Iowa on Jan. 27, 2013, King, who finished with a Michigan state record 29 career interceptions, said yes to the Hawkeyes.

King had eight scholarship offers, with all but three (Iowa, Wisconsin and Indiana) coming from the Mid-American Conference. Along with his 29 interceptions at East English Village in Detroit, King rushed for 2,368 yards rushing and 32 touchdowns as a senior.

How many stars now?

: King was named to eight all-American teams after a season that saw him lead the Big Ten and tie an Iowa season record with eight interceptions. King has earned first-team all-America from the Walter Camp Foundation, Associated Press, ESPN.com, USA Today, SI.com, the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), The Sporting News and American Football Coaches Association.

King earned consensus all-American status. Iowa will honor him with a painted portrait that will hang with the other Iowa consensus all-Americans in the great room of the Hansen Performance Center.

King also won the Jim Thorpe Award, which goes to the top defensive back in the nation. King also was named the Big Ten defensive back of the year.

King recorded 67 tackles, with one tackle for loss, and a team-high 12 pass breakups to go with his eight interceptions. King also handled kickoff returns (25.6 yards per attempt) and punt returns (12.7).

Punter Dillon Kidd

Hometown:

Deerfield Beach, Fla.

Rivals star rating

: 2 stars

The road to Iowa City

: Dillon Kidd was political in his approach when asked about the opportunity he suddenly had at Iowa.

Kidd, a punter out of El Camino Community College in Torrance, Calif., accepted a scholarship offer from Iowa after an extremely short courtship (maybe two days). Kidd was ready to enroll at Florida International in January 2014. FIU's special teams coach bolted to become defensive line coach at Connecticut.

So, Kidd looked at his options. He contacted Chris Sailer, a renowned kicking coach. Sailer told him Iowa special teams coordinator Chris White contacted Sailer and was looking for a punter.

'After about 50 phone calls with coach White the last three days, I think we both felt comfortable,' said Kidd, whose dad, John, punted at Northwestern before playing a 15-year career in the NFL. Kidd accepted a scholarship offer.

Kidd spent two years as a backup punter at Florida State before he transferred to El Camino. After two colleges and one potential college in three years, he's happy to have a spot in the Big Ten.

'I'm just going to work hard, kick well and have no regrets,' said Kidd, who had scholarship offers from Florida International, Louisiana Tech and San Jose State.

How many stars now?

: Going into the bowl, Kidd is seventh in the Big Ten with 40.4 yards per punt. He was named honorable mention all-Big Ten by coaches and media.

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com